The heat is on for Power and Vallance… After a superb battle between this year’s four finalists, Rob Wootton, Gary Miller, Andy Power and Geoff Vallance, there were always going to be just two who would progress to day two of this final. The weigh in saw Gary and Rob fall short, leaving Andy and Geoff to battle it out today.
Yesterday’s event was held on the Match Pool, but in keeping with the last couple of year’s format, day two takes place on Mickey Mouse Pool, which is home to chub carp, roach, barbell and plenty of other species. It’s a super-exciting lake to fish and one that really offers a unique day’s fishing.
So here are the two anglers making day two…
With four even pegs the match was always going to be too close to call and that certainly proved the case.
Andy Power and Rob Wootton set an early pace on pegs five and eight. The general consensus suggested that 80lb would be enough to progress to day two.
Waggler and feeder tactics were the starting gambit for all, but it wasn't long until Gary, Andy and Rob were plundering the long pole line – a swim that Geoff had taken the decision not to feed preferring to rely on a short meat line only.
This year’s final is underway LIVE at Docklow Pools, Leominster. Reporting LIVE From the bankside, today and tomorrow sees the final of the ultra-prestigious Drennan Knockout Cup final.
From a 100-plus strong elite starting line-up earlier in the year the contestants have been whittled down over five arduous rounds spanning rivers, canals and commercials, to leave just four stars! (From left to right on the image) Geoff Valance, Gary Miller, Rob Wootton and Andy Power.
In a change to the usual format, which usually sees two anglers compete on day one and carry their weight into day two, this year’s final will see all four compete on day one with the two anglers having the best weights progressing to day two.
Top team Drennan North West boost its squad. Drennan North West has strengthened its ranks after signing some exceptionally talented young anglers. Squad captain Steve Conroy explained: “We recently had a meeting with some of the senior members of the squad and decided that if we wanted to remain competitive with teams like Barnsley and Dorking we would have to look to strengthen the squad with some hungry young anglers. “Some of the Welsh contingent in the squad fish Weston Pools regularly and identified commercial specialists Robbie Griffiths, Matty Dawes and Michael Rough who have all been regular winners.
The humble readymade pole rig has just been dragged into the 21st century by tackle giant Drennan! Traditionally the domain of the ‘pleasure’ angler and newcomers to the sport, Drennan’s pre-tied pole rigs surpass anything that’s currently out there, which makes them a very real consideration for anglers of allabilities and experience levels. There are no signs of mismatched hooks, badly undershotted floats andbizarre shotting patterns – these rigs have been over a year in development, hand-tied in Drennan’s own factories and based on five-time World Champion, Alan Scotthorne’s rig diagrams.
That makes them as close as you can possibly get in mass production to the rigs that Alan actually ties himself!
Designed to cope with most commercial fishery applications, there are four styles of rig available: Carp & F1s, Big Carp, Silverfish & F1s and Margin Carp.
We were particularly impressed with the shotting patterns and the sensible sizes of shot used, from No10s to No8s.
England finding the going tough in Croatia.
After Day One of the 61st World Championships in Croatia, it is looking unlikely that Drennan Team England will be able to add another gold to their tally.
As was predicted the venue has proved to be an extremely tough nut to crack with many of the favoured teams struggling to get to grips with it. The draw also seemingly playing its part in the results.
Crystal Dibber creates huge demand for Drennan
The Crystal Dibber has captured the imagination of anglers the length and breadth of the country with tens of thousands already sold since Drennan unveiled them just a couple of months ago.
A spokesman for Drennan commented: “We knew these floats would be popular, but no-one could have quite predicted the unprecedented level of demand. Shops have been placing reorders for 100 or more trade packs of each of the three sizes currently available. That’s 3,000 Dibbers!
“We’ve put a considerable amount of time into developing our unique machinery, capable of blow-moulding these tiny clear-plastic bodies, so it’s great to see so many anglers appreciating it!”
Shops are hailing the float as a huge success.
Editor, Alex Bones, checks out what’s new… To add to its already glowing portfolio of products, Shimano and Dynamite have some new additions for release before the end of this year. Match Fishing Editor, Alex Bones, visited the HQ to find out what’s in store.
First up is the new mid-price-range Super Ultegra AX Match and Feeder range of rods available in three match (float), five feeder versions and one winkle picker model to cover a multitude of disciplines.
Designed with performance and versatility in mind the feeder versions are available in lengths from 11ft to 14ft, the float ones in 13ft, 14ft and 15ft versions and the little winkle picker, which is likely to be a hit on many of today’s commercials, comes in one version, 8ft-9ft.
Organisers of the Evesham Angling Festival are celebrating a new sponsorship for one of match fishing’s showpiece events.
Dynamite Baits – one of the top manufacturers of fishing baits in the UK - has agreed to become title sponsor for The Dynamite Baits Individual Evesham Championship – the headline event of the Evesham Angling Festival. The match, which invites 35 of the nation’s top anglers and pits them against 35 qualifiers, carries a top prize of £3,000 and kicks off the biggest spectator angling event in the calendar.
Dynamite is a great fit for the event,” said festival director Roger Mortimer.
Shipp, Ashby and Raison winning their sections. Match Fishing's runners on the bank report that Drennan Team England have taken a convincing early lead, at the end of the first hour of the World Championship on the Żerański Channel in Warsaw, Poland. In A section, Des Shipp is winning his section, and could even be leading the match overall with several chunky pommies, and two bonus skimmers of 1lb each. He is thought to have well over 1kg in weight.
Chub bag wins Evesham Individual ChampionshipGarbolino, and ABC Baits-backed ace Lee Edwards has won the Evesham Individual Championship, with a 15-12-0 net of chub. Drawn on Peg 35, the River Avon’s confluence with the River Isbourne, Lee included fish to 2lb 8oz in his net. He told Match Fishing: “I am over the moon to win an event as prestigious as this. I know that the peg has some form for chub, and so I set my stall out to target them on waggler tactics.
New Frenzee tackle release sets tongues wagging. Welsh tackle manufacturer Frenzee claims to have engineered a brand-new concept in puller kit design. Its new product, the Eeze Glide, offers the angler a side puller slot with a small roller wheel. This wheel not only helps when playing fish, but also prevents elastic wear.
Emma Pickering wins the Angling Trust Ladies’ National Championship title. England international and former Ladies' National Champion Emma Pickering (Doncaster AA) has won this year's Ladies' National with a 32kg 500g bag, from Colemans Cottage Fishery in Essex. Emma's net contained a mixed bag of F1s, smallish carp and silver fish taken mainly on worm tails. Emma started at four metres on Peg 21, but had to follow the fish out to seven metres to stay in touch with them.
Preston innovations England Feeder Team take double gold at the World Championship
At the fourth time of asking the England Feeder team blew away the opposition to take a wonderful Gold medal – their first since the competition's inception.
Held on Inniscarra Lake in Southern Ireland, the England team totalled just 26 points over the two days – a staggering 36 points ahead of runners-up Ireland.
A true ‘Method’ water, Inniscarra turned out to be a fair arena for the championship, which allowed the team to really show their ability on an even playing field. The fishing was all about catching skimmers of various sizes at short range.
